Trigger mechanism for firearms.



C. NEWTON..

TRSGGER MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS. APPLxcATioN men APR. 22, w16.

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

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30 Huug ,Ivm/engin dischar 'inv' the firearm and thus enable the lSTATES PATENT @FFQEQ OHAELEs NEWTON, or BUFFALO, NEW Yon/K, assrcNoE orONE-HALE To JOHN E. NAGEL, OE EUEEALO, NEW YORK.

TRIGGER IJIECHANISM FOR FIREABMS.

Application Ied April 22,

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, CHARLES NEwroN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Trigger Mechanisms for Firearms,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to firearms which are fired from theshoulders or hands and more particularly to firearms having a settrigger mechanism by which the same are discharged.

ln firearms of this character as heretofore constructed the full strainof the main spring has usually heen exerted against the sear so that it-was difiicult to obtain a light pull for discharging the firearm, thisbeing due to the fact that the amount of contact which was necessarybetween the bent of the firing head and the seaito restrain the strengthof the main spring precluded an easy release of the firing head bentfrom the sear. It has also been customary heretofore to employ a doubleset of triggers viz. a front or releasing trigger, and a` rear or settrigger, these triggers being so organized that when the front triggeris pressed the rear trigger fiies up and operates a knock-off attachedto the scar thus operating the firearm with a much lighter pull than ispossible when no set trigger is used. It is frequently desirable to usethe front trigger On a direct pull withoutl the intervention of the settrigger and in such cases it is desirable that the front trigger shouldrelease the sear from the bent of the firing head and discharge thefirearm rwithout undue loss of motion. .In all forms of set triggermechanism heretofore devised f it has been necessary to draw the fronttrig`- ger back a considerable distance before it would engage theknock-off and discharge the firearm by a direct pull.

One of the Objects of this invention is to i provide a trigger mechanismin which two knockoffs are used and associated in such manger with thefront and rear triggers that pressure upon either of the same willrelease the sear from the bent of the firing head foi saine to beoperated with a` minimum of lost motion.

Another object of this invention is to improve the construction andmanner ofl mounting the front and rear triggers so as C) abSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 191W.

191e. serialivaeasoz.

to simplify the same and reduce the cost of manufacture.

A. further object of this invention is to provide an improved springdevice which is of simple, inexpensive and reliable form and whichserves the' double function of yieldingly turning both the front andrear triggers so that they tend constantly to move in a direction inwhich their fingerpieces move forwardly.

ln the accompanying` drawings: Figure l is a. fragmentary sideelevation, partly in section, of a breech loading rearm equipped with myimprovements and showing the trigger mechanism cocked for firing thesame with the set trigger knock-off. F ig. 2 is a similar view showingthe position of the parts preparatory to cooking` the firearm. Fig. 3 isa similar view showing the parts in the position which they occupy afterthe trigger mechanism is operated so as to fire the gun directly throughthe releasing trigger knock-o. Fig. d is a detached side elevation ofthe lower frame of the firearm and that part of the trigger mechanismmounted thereon. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. d.F 6 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 6 6, Fig. 4C. Fig. 7is a perspective view of the spring for operating the front and reartriggers.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views.

The main elements of the firearm which are shown in the drawings, as anexample of the various forms which are capable of using my improvements,comprise a. wooden stool: l, an upper metal frame 2 secured to the upperpart of the stock, a lower frame 3 secured to the lower part of thestock, a longitudinally movable firing bolt t guided in the upper frameand provided with' a firing head 5 having a forwardly facing bent orshoulder 6 on its underside, and a vertically swinging sear 7 arrangedin a recess 8 formed in the stock between the upper and lower frames andpivoted at its front end to the upper frame by means of a pin 9. Thissear is provided at its rear end with a nose 10 which projects upwardlythrough an opening ll in the upper frame in such a posiion that its rearside may be engaged with he bent of the firing head. The sea'r isyieldingly held in its operative position in which its nose is arrangedin the path of the firing head bent by means of a spring 12 operating ona forwardly projecting arm 13 of the sear. rlhis spring may operate uponthis arm in any suitable 'manner but as shown in the drawings the samebears at its lower end against the bottom of a socket in the upper sideof the arm 13 while its upper end bears against a follower 14 guided insaid socket and bearing against a'bolt stop 16 or other suitableabutment which may be provided for this purpose.

My improved trigger mechanism which is associated with the abovedescribed parts may bevariously constructed so far asY the details ofthe same are concerned but in the preferred form of'this mechanism thatshown ,in the drawings is suitable and as there shown the saine isconstructed as follows:

Direct and indirect knock-offs are arranged transversely side by side ina slot 19 formed lengthwise in the sear and pivotally mounted on thelatter by means of a horizontal transverse pin 2O passing through theseknock-offs and the adjacent part of the scar. Both of these knock-offsare constructed in the form of cam levers, the front or direct knock-ottbeing provided above and in front of its pivot with a cam or heel 21 anda downwardly projecting front arm 22 while the rear or indirect knock-ois provided above and in rear of its pivot with a cam or heel 23 and arear arm 25 which projects downwardly and rearwardly.

17 represents the front or releasing trig- Vger and 1S the rear or settrigger both of which project through a longitudinal slot 27 formed inthe lower frame in line with the stock recess and within the triggerguard 28 which projects downwardly from the lower frame. Projectingupwardly from the lower frame along opposite sides of the slot thereinand along opposite sides of the central parts of the front and reartriggers aretwo supporting lugs 29, 29 which are preferably formedintegrally with the lower frame. r)The central part of the front triggeris pivoted to the front parts of these lugs by means of a horizontaltransverse pin 31 and the central part of the rear trigger is pivoted tothe rear parts of these `lugs by means of a horizontal transverse pin30. The front trigger is provided with a ingerpiece 32 which projectsdownwardly from the pivoted centralrpart of this trigger into the spacewithin the front part of the guard and above its pivot 4this trigger isprovided with a rearwardly projecting stop lug 33 and an upwardlyprojecting catch or detent arm 34 which is provided'on its rear sidewith a downwardly facing bent or shoulder 35. OnV its front side betweenthe upper and lowerI ends of this trigger the same is provided with adownwardly facing shoulder or seat 36. The

stop lug 33 of the front trigger is adapted to bear against the upperend of an adjusting screw 37 which engages with a screw threaded openingor seat 3S formed partly on opposite longitudinal walls of the slot 27of the lower frame between the front and rear triggersf By suitablyadjusting this screw the forward movement of the fingerpiece of thefront Vtrigger and the corresponding rearward movement of its catch arm34 may be determined.

The rear trigger is provided with a fingerpiece 39 which projectsdownwardly from the pivoted central part thereof into the space withinthe rear part of the guard and above its pivot this rear trigger isprovided with a forwardly projecting hammer arm 40 which is arrangedlengthwise in line with the catch arm of the front trigger. The frontend of this hammer arm is so constructed that it'inay be engaged withthe shoulder or bent 35 of the catch arm. The latter is arranged infront of the arm of the front knock-off or cam lever and the hammer armof the rear gger is arranged belowthe arm of the rear knock-off or camlever.

A spring device is provided which constantly tends to turn the fronttrigger in the direction for moving its fingerpiece forwardly and itscatch rearwardly and to move the'fingerpiece of the rear triggerforwardly and its hammer arm upwardly. 1n its preferred form this springdevice is constructed of a single piece of spring wire which is bent toform two upper arms 41, 42, two lower arms 43, 44 arranged respectivelybelow the upper arms, two coils 45, 46 each of which connects the rearends of the companion upper and lower arms forming a pair, an upperhorizontal transverse bar 47 connecting the front ends of the upperarms, and a lower horizontal transverse bar 4S projecting` laterallyfrom the front end of one ofthe lower spring arms, the lower spring arm44 being comparatively short, and the other lower spring arm 43 whichcarries the lower cross bar 4S being comparatively long and bentdownwardly about midway of its length so as to form a downwardlyprojecting elbow 49 and divid- Ving this long lower spring arm into twofront and rear sections which diverge up' wardly, as shown in Fig. 7. Ifdesired, the coils 45, 46 may be omitted and the upper and lower arms ofthe trigger spring connected by plain turns. Thisspring is mounted sothat its arms are arranged lengthwise adjacent to the outer sides oftheVsupporting lugs on the lower frame. The coils of this spring receiveopposite ends of the pivot pin 30 which connects the rear trigger withthese lugs, the upper cross bar 47 engages with the underside of thehammer arm of the rear trigger, the lower cross bar 48 enllt v thesupporting :i the downwardly facing shoulder 38 ef t le front triggeradjacent to the front of the supporting lugs, the downwardly bent elbowbetween the front and rear sections of the long spring arm 43 bearsagainst the upper side of the lower frame adjacent to the cuter side ofone of lugs and the front end of the shcrt lower spring arm 44 bearsagainst the upper side of the lower frame adjacent to the othersupporting lug.

The front parts of the supporting lugs 29 are provided with downwardlyfacing stop shoulders 50 which are adapted to be engaged by this uppercross bar 47 of the trigger spring and limit the upward movementthereof.

When the firearm is fully cocked preparatory to being iired through themedium of the set trigger by drawing or pulling the ingerpiece of thefront or releasing trigger backwardly, the firing head cf the bolt isdrawn backuf'ardly and engaged with its bent against the nose of thescar, the cams or heels of both knock-off levers are so turned that thesame are retracted from the underside of the upper frame, the catch ordetent arm of the front trigger is close to the rear side of the arm ofthe front knock-oit lever, and the hammer arm of the rear trigger hasbeen lowered out cf engagement from the arm cf the rear knock-off leverand engaged with the shoulder of the detent or catch arm, as shown inFig. 1, in which position of the parts the various parts of the triggerspring are under their maximum tension. Upon now pulling the fingerpieceof the front trigger rearwardly in opposition to the resilience of thetrigger spring the first effect is to withdraw the catch shoulder 35 ofthe front trigger forwardly out of engagement from the hammer arm 40,thereby releasing the latter and permitting the same to be thrown upwardby the resilience of the trigger spring engaging therewith. During thefirst part of this upward movement of the hammer arm the same moves idlyfrom the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown byfull lines in Fig. 2, at the end of which movement the hammer armengages with the underside of the arm of the rear knock-o lever, andduring the remainder of the upward movement of this hammer arm the samedelivers an upward blow against this knock-off arm during which timethis hammer arm and knock-off arm are shifted from the position shown byfull lines in Fig. 2 to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2,thereby causing the cam or heel of this rear or in direct knock-offlever, by engaging with the underside of the upper frame, to draw thesear downwardly and disengage its nose from the bent of the firing head,whereby the latter and the bolt are permitted to fly forwardly under theaction of the usual main spring and discharge the firearm. While thefirearm is being discharged the upward movement of the upper spring arms41, 42 and the cross bar 47 connecting the same is limited by engagementof the latter with the shoulders 50 of the lugs 29, as shown in Fig. 4while the hammer arm 40 continues its movement independently of theseparts of the trigger spring and delivers a blow against the rear orindirect knock-off lever. After the firearm has been discharged in thismanner the rear knock-off lever rebounds under the action of the searspring 12 and the set trigger returns to its normal inoperativeposition, as shown by full lines in Fig. 2, in which the front end ofthe hammer arm engages with the upper end of the catch arm 22 but doesnot engage underneath the shoulder of the latter.

When the firing head 5 is drawn backwardly and engaged with its bentagainst the nose of the sear and it is desired to discharge the gundirectly by a pull on the front or releasing trigger instead ofindirectly through the hammer blow of the rear or set trigger, thetrigger mechanism would be arranged in the position shown by full linesin Fig. 2. For discharging the firearm directly while the parts are inthis position it is only necessary to pull rearwardly on the ngerpieceof the front or releasing Y trigger and the result of this operationcauses the catch arm of the releasing trigger to move forwardly againstthe arm 19 of the front knock-ofin lever and turn the same forwardly,whereby the cam or heel of the latter is caused to operate against theunderside of the upper frame and draw the sear downwardly, therebydisengaging the nose of the sear from the bent of the firing head andpermitting the firing bolt tc fly forward under the action of the mainspring and discharge the cartridge.

The relative arrangement of the catch arm 34 and the direct or frontknock-ofi'1 lever 22 is such that when the mechanism is set fordischarging the gun indirectly through the set trigger and associatedparts the rear knock-off lever 25 will be operated to discharge theirearin before the arm 22 of the front knock-off lever has been moved tooperate the scar and discharge the firearm, this being preferablyaccomplished by providing sufficient clearance between the catch arm 34and the arm 2Q of the front knock-off lever for this purpose, as shownin Fig. 1.

By this means the discharge of the firearm may be effected bytransmitting the pull on the releasing trigger either directly to thesear or indirectly through the hammer of the set trigger with a minimumloss of motion, thereby increasing the accuracy of the fire and theutility of the rearm accordingly. Furthermore, this trigger mechanismpermits of discharging the firearm with a comparatively light pull onthe front trigger, thereby reducing to a minimum the liability ofinterfering with the aim.

This entire trigger mechanism is very simple in construction7 the samecan be produced at comparatively low cost and the various parts may beassembled or dismembered for inspection or cleaning without requiringany special tool for this purpose.

I claim as my invention:

l. A firearm comprising` a movable iiring head having a bent, a searadapted to engage said bent, direct and indirect knockoffs mounted onsaid sear and engaging a relatively stationary abutment, areleasingtrigger engaging withv said direct knock-off, and a set trigger engagingsaid indirect knock-o and controlled by said releasing trigger.

2. A firearm comprising a movable tiring head having a bent, a searadapted Vto engage said bent, direct and indirect knockois pivoted onsaid sear and each having a cam engaging with a relatively stationaryabutment and having a depending operating arm, a. releasing triggerhaving a lower iingerpiece and an upper catch arm engaging the operatingarm of said direct knock-od, a set trigger having a lower iingerpieceand an upper hammer arm adapted to engage the operating arm of saidindirect knock-off and also adapted to be engaged by said catch arm andheld thereby in a retracted position, and a spring device for turningsaid triggers so that their ngerpieces move forwardly.

3. A irearm comprising a movable tiring head having'a bent, a searadapted Vto engage said bent, direct and indirect knockoffs pivoted onsaid Sear and each having a @am engaging with a. relatively stationaryabutment and having a depending operating arm, a releasing triggerhaving a lower fingerpiece and an upper catch arm engaging the operatingarm of said direct knock-od, a set trigger having a lower fingerpieceand an upper hammer arm adapted to engage the operating arm of saidindirect knock-ofi and also adapted to be engaged by said catch arm andheld thereby i-n a retracted position, a spring device for turning saidtriggers so that their ngerpieces move forwardly and stops for limitingmovement of said triggers under the action of said spring device.

4. A firearm comprising a movable firing head having a bent, a scaradapted to engage said bent, direct and indirect knockoffs pivotedonsaid sear and each having a cam engaging with a relatively stationaryabutment and having a depending operating arm, a releasing triggerhaving a lower ingerpiece and an upper catch arm engagjacent ends ingthe operating arm or' said direct knockol, a set trigger having a loweringerpiecc and an upper hammer arm adapted to cngage the operating armof said indirect knock-od' and also adapted to be engaged by said catcharm and held thereby in a retracted position, a frame provided with aslot through which said triggers project and with a supporting lugadjacent to said slot to which the triggers are pivoted, and a springoperating to turn said triggers in the direction in which theiingerpieces of the same move forwardly.

5. A firearm comprising a movable tiring head having a bent, a scaradapted to cngage said bent, direct and indirect knockoils pivoted onsaid sear and each having a cam engaging with a relatively stationaryabutment and'having a depending operating arm, a releasing triggerhaving a lower fmgerpiece and an upper catch arm engaging the operatingarm of said direct knock-ofi, a set trigger having a lower iingerpieceand an upper hammer arm adapted to engage the operating arm of saidindirect knockoii and also adapted to be engaged b y said catch arm andheld thereby in a retracted position, a frame provided with a slotthrough which said triggers project and with a supporting lug adjacentto said slot` to which the triggers are pivoted, and a spring operatingto turn said triggers in the direction in which the iingerpieces of thesame move forwardly comprising upper and lower spring arms connected atone'of their corresponding ends while their opposite ends engage saidtriggers, respectively.

6. A firearm comprising a movable iring head having a bent,'a scaradapted to engage said bent, direct and indirect knocko's pivoted onsaid sear and each having a. cam engaging with a relatively stationaryabutment and having a depending operating arm, a releasing triggerhaving a lower fingerpiece Vand an upper catch arm engaging theoperating arm of said direct knockof, a set trigger having a loweriingerpiece and an upper hammer arm adapted to engage' Vthe operatingarm of said indirect knock-off and also adapted to be engaged bysaidcatch arm and held thereby in a retracted position, a trame providedwith a slot through which said triggers project and with a supportinglug adjacent to said slot to which the triggers are pivoted, and aspring operating to turn said triggers in the direction in which theiingerpieces of the same move forwardly comprising upper and lowerspring arms having one of their adpivot of said set-trigger, a cross bararranged on said upper spring arm and engaging said hammer arm, and across bar arranged on the free end oi said lower arm and engaging withsaid catch arm, said connected and mounted on theA llilower' arm being'provided between its ends with downwardly projectingelbow which rests onsaid frame.

7. A firearm comprising a movable firing head having' a bent, a searadapted to engage said bent, direct and indirect lnocloots pivoted onsaid sear and each having a cam engaging with a relatively stationaryabutment and having a depending' operating arm, a releasing triggerhaving a lower fingerpiece and an upper catch arm engaging the operatingarm of said direct lino-ckoil", a set trigger having a lower ngerpieceand an upper hammer` arm adapted to engage the operating arm oiE saidindirect knock-oft and also adapted to be engaged by said catch arm andheld thereby in a retracted position, a. frame provided with a slotthrough which said triggers project and with a supporting lug adjacentto said slot to which the triggers are pivoted, and a spring operatingto turn said trigg'ers in the direction in which the ngerpieces of thesame move forwardly comprising upper and lower spring arms having one ottheir adjacent ends connected and mounted on the pivot of saidset-trigger, a cross bar arranged on said upper spring arm and engagingsaid hammerl arm, and a cross bar arranged on the free end of said lowerarm and engaging' with said catch arm, said lower arm being providedbetween its ends with a downwardly projecting elbow which rests on saidframe and a stop arranged on said supporting lng and adapted to eengaged by thecross bar of said upper spring arm.

8. A firearm comprising a movable ring head having a bent, a searadapted to engage said bent, direct and indirect knockoffs pivoted onsaid sear and each having a cam engaging with relatively stationaryabutment and having depending operating arm, a releasing trigger havinga lower iingerpiece and an upper catch arm engaging the operating arm ofsaid direct knockoli, a set trigger having a lower lingerpiece and anupper hammer arm adapted to engage the operating arm of said indirectknock-0E' and also adapted to be engaged by said catch arm and heldthereby in a retracted position, a frame provided with a slot throughwhich said triggers project and with supporting lugs on opposite sidesof Copies of this patent may be obtained for ave cents each, byaddressing said slot to which the triggers are pivoted, and a springoperating to turn said triggers in the direction in which theirfingerpieces move forwardly and comprising a pair of upper and lowerarms arranged adjacent to the outer side of each supporting lug andhaving two of their corresponding ends connected and mounted on thepivot of said set trigger, an upper cross bar connecting the free endsof said upper spring arms and adapted to engage said hammer arm andstops on said supporting lugs, and a cross bar arranged on the free endof one of said lower spring arms and engaging with a shoulder on saidreleasing' trigger, said lower spring arm having the lower cross barbeing pro vided between its'ends with a downwardly projecting elbowwhich rests on said frame.

firearm comprising a movable tiring head having a bent, a sear adaptedto engage saidvbent, direct and indirect knockoffs pivoted on said searand each having a cam engaging with a relatively stationary abutment andhaving a depending operating arm, a releasing trigger having a loweriin'gerpiece and an upper catch arm engaging the operating arm of saiddirect knock-off, a set trigger having a lower iingerpiece and an upperhammer arm adapted to engage the operating arm of said indirectknock-off and also adapted to be engaged by said catch arm and heldthereby in a retracted position, a frame provided with a slot throughwhich said triggers project and with supporting lugs on opposite sidesof said slot to which the triggers are pivoted, and a spring operatingto turn said triggers in the direction in which their ingerpieces moveforwardly and comprising a pair of upper and lower arms arrangedadjacent tothe outer side of each supporting lug and having two of theircorresponding ends connected by coils mounted on the pivot of said settrigger, an upper cross bar connecting the free ends of said upperspring arms and adapted to engage said hammer arm and stops on saidsupporting lugs, and a cross bar arranged on the free end of one of saidlower spring arms and engaging with a shoulder on said releasingtrigger, said lower spring arm having the lower cross bar being providedbetween its ends with a downwardly projecting elbow which rests on saidframe.

CHARLES NEWTON.

the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

